Your rights when it comes to door-to-door selling

FEDERAL Member for Wide Bay Warren Truss yesterday reminded householders of their rights concerning door-to-door sales, following a win for the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission in the Federal Court.

"Residents can avoid being approached by door-to-door salespeople by clearly displaying a Do Not Knock sticker on their door," Mr Truss said.

"Any vendor who chooses to ignore a clearly visible Do Not Knock sticker risks breaking the law, and could be liable for a fine of up to $50,000.

"Householders can find these stickers, which are available for free, on the ACCC website."

Mr Truss said there were a range of measures in place to protect consumers from door-to-door sales.

"Under current Australian Consumer Law, if a resident of a household has been approached for a product or service, they have a 10-day period in which to withdraw their consent for that agreement.

"Further to this, there are very clear guidelines to which door-to-door merchants must adhere. They should not be approaching residents outside of the hours of 9am to 6pm on weekdays or 9am to 5pm on weekends.

"They must also declare their name, the organisation they represent and the purpose of their visit, as well as informing consumers of their 'cooling-off' rights. If asked to leave they must leave immediately and not return for 30 days.

"If members of the public have signed an unsolicited contract and they feel that something is amiss, I would encourage them to contact the ACCC for information regarding the action that they can take," Mr Truss said.